SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"Preparing for the possibility of Trump refusing to concede isn't just reasonable, it's the responsible thing to do," said Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible. (Image: Stand Up America)
New Campaign Prepares Mass Mobilization Should Trump Refuse to 'Leave Willingly' If Defeated in November
"Preparing for the possibility of Trump refusing to concede isn't just reasonable, it's the responsible thing to do."
Jun 12, 2020
"I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election... if I win."
That was then-candidate Donald Trump's message to his supporters and the nation just a month before his victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
"We're sounding the alarm: Trump could refuse to accept defeat this November. We have to be ready."
--Indivisible
Four years later, with less than five months to go until the 2020 presidential election, progressive advocacy groups are preparing to mobilize millions of people should Trump lose to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and refuse to accept the results.
On Friday, Stand Up America and Indivisible launched a "Protect the Results" campaign aimed at encouraging all Americans to "protect and defend the valid results of the election whether their preferred candidate wins or loses."
"Trump has no respect for the rule of law, and we have no reason to believe he will leave willingly after losing reelection," Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, said in a statement. "Preparing for the possibility of Trump refusing to concede isn't just reasonable, it's the responsible thing to do."
Indivisible and Stand Up warn on their campaign's website that "there is no line he won't cross," pointing to Trump's threat last week to deploy the U.S. military to quash nationwide protests against the police killing of George Floyd.
"We cannot ignore the threat that Trump poses to our democracy and a peaceful transition," the groups said. "We will stand together to ensure that if Trump loses the 2020 presidential election he will not throw our country into a constitutional crisis."
Indivisible and Stand Up said in a joint statement Friday that they hope to "build a network of millions of Americans who pledge to take action should Trump refuse to accept the results or if he attempts to declare victory while the actual outcome remains unclear."
The groups said they plan to use a text alert system to:
- Mobilize Americans to safely take to the streets;
- Build a coalition of organizations willing to engage their members to take action, including protests and potential work strikes;
- Drive calls to state and local election officials to ensure that every vote is being counted accurately, especially as tens of millions of Americans are likely to cast their ballots by mail; and/or,
- Put pressure on key elected officials to stand up for our democracy and denounce any attempts by Trump to undermine the outcome of the election.
"We can't bury our heads in the sand and pretend that Trump is not a threat to our democracy," said Stand Up founder and president Sean Eldridge. "The American people must be ready to protect the results of the 2020 election."
Since taking office in 2017, Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility of remaining in office beyond his constitutionally allotted term during rallies and on Twitter.
"The Fake News is not as important, or as powerful, as Social Media," Trump tweeted last July. "When I ultimately leave office in six years, or maybe 10 or 14 (just kidding), they will quickly go out of business."
A month later, Trump suggested on Twitter that his administration "should be given our stolen time back," referring to the Russia investigation that consumed much of the president's first two years in the White House.
Levin told Newsweek on Friday that there is good reason to believe Trump's remarks were more than mere jokes meant to rile up the media and his political opponents.
"He wasn't joking when he teargassed peaceful protesters for a photo-op," Levin said. "This is a real concern people have."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
"I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election... if I win."
That was then-candidate Donald Trump's message to his supporters and the nation just a month before his victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
"We're sounding the alarm: Trump could refuse to accept defeat this November. We have to be ready."
--Indivisible
Four years later, with less than five months to go until the 2020 presidential election, progressive advocacy groups are preparing to mobilize millions of people should Trump lose to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and refuse to accept the results.
On Friday, Stand Up America and Indivisible launched a "Protect the Results" campaign aimed at encouraging all Americans to "protect and defend the valid results of the election whether their preferred candidate wins or loses."
"Trump has no respect for the rule of law, and we have no reason to believe he will leave willingly after losing reelection," Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, said in a statement. "Preparing for the possibility of Trump refusing to concede isn't just reasonable, it's the responsible thing to do."
Indivisible and Stand Up warn on their campaign's website that "there is no line he won't cross," pointing to Trump's threat last week to deploy the U.S. military to quash nationwide protests against the police killing of George Floyd.
"We cannot ignore the threat that Trump poses to our democracy and a peaceful transition," the groups said. "We will stand together to ensure that if Trump loses the 2020 presidential election he will not throw our country into a constitutional crisis."
Indivisible and Stand Up said in a joint statement Friday that they hope to "build a network of millions of Americans who pledge to take action should Trump refuse to accept the results or if he attempts to declare victory while the actual outcome remains unclear."
The groups said they plan to use a text alert system to:
- Mobilize Americans to safely take to the streets;
- Build a coalition of organizations willing to engage their members to take action, including protests and potential work strikes;
- Drive calls to state and local election officials to ensure that every vote is being counted accurately, especially as tens of millions of Americans are likely to cast their ballots by mail; and/or,
- Put pressure on key elected officials to stand up for our democracy and denounce any attempts by Trump to undermine the outcome of the election.
"We can't bury our heads in the sand and pretend that Trump is not a threat to our democracy," said Stand Up founder and president Sean Eldridge. "The American people must be ready to protect the results of the 2020 election."
Since taking office in 2017, Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility of remaining in office beyond his constitutionally allotted term during rallies and on Twitter.
"The Fake News is not as important, or as powerful, as Social Media," Trump tweeted last July. "When I ultimately leave office in six years, or maybe 10 or 14 (just kidding), they will quickly go out of business."
A month later, Trump suggested on Twitter that his administration "should be given our stolen time back," referring to the Russia investigation that consumed much of the president's first two years in the White House.
Levin told Newsweek on Friday that there is good reason to believe Trump's remarks were more than mere jokes meant to rile up the media and his political opponents.
"He wasn't joking when he teargassed peaceful protesters for a photo-op," Levin said. "This is a real concern people have."
"I will totally accept the results of this great and historic presidential election... if I win."
That was then-candidate Donald Trump's message to his supporters and the nation just a month before his victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race.
"We're sounding the alarm: Trump could refuse to accept defeat this November. We have to be ready."
--Indivisible
Four years later, with less than five months to go until the 2020 presidential election, progressive advocacy groups are preparing to mobilize millions of people should Trump lose to presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and refuse to accept the results.
On Friday, Stand Up America and Indivisible launched a "Protect the Results" campaign aimed at encouraging all Americans to "protect and defend the valid results of the election whether their preferred candidate wins or loses."
"Trump has no respect for the rule of law, and we have no reason to believe he will leave willingly after losing reelection," Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, said in a statement. "Preparing for the possibility of Trump refusing to concede isn't just reasonable, it's the responsible thing to do."
Indivisible and Stand Up warn on their campaign's website that "there is no line he won't cross," pointing to Trump's threat last week to deploy the U.S. military to quash nationwide protests against the police killing of George Floyd.
"We cannot ignore the threat that Trump poses to our democracy and a peaceful transition," the groups said. "We will stand together to ensure that if Trump loses the 2020 presidential election he will not throw our country into a constitutional crisis."
Indivisible and Stand Up said in a joint statement Friday that they hope to "build a network of millions of Americans who pledge to take action should Trump refuse to accept the results or if he attempts to declare victory while the actual outcome remains unclear."
The groups said they plan to use a text alert system to:
- Mobilize Americans to safely take to the streets;
- Build a coalition of organizations willing to engage their members to take action, including protests and potential work strikes;
- Drive calls to state and local election officials to ensure that every vote is being counted accurately, especially as tens of millions of Americans are likely to cast their ballots by mail; and/or,
- Put pressure on key elected officials to stand up for our democracy and denounce any attempts by Trump to undermine the outcome of the election.
"We can't bury our heads in the sand and pretend that Trump is not a threat to our democracy," said Stand Up founder and president Sean Eldridge. "The American people must be ready to protect the results of the 2020 election."
Since taking office in 2017, Trump has repeatedly floated the possibility of remaining in office beyond his constitutionally allotted term during rallies and on Twitter.
"The Fake News is not as important, or as powerful, as Social Media," Trump tweeted last July. "When I ultimately leave office in six years, or maybe 10 or 14 (just kidding), they will quickly go out of business."
A month later, Trump suggested on Twitter that his administration "should be given our stolen time back," referring to the Russia investigation that consumed much of the president's first two years in the White House.
Levin told Newsweek on Friday that there is good reason to believe Trump's remarks were more than mere jokes meant to rile up the media and his political opponents.
"He wasn't joking when he teargassed peaceful protesters for a photo-op," Levin said. "This is a real concern people have."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.